1859 Belgian general election


Partial general elections were held in Belgium on 14 June 1859. The result was a victory for the Liberal Party, which won 69 of the 116 seats in the Chamber of Representatives and 31 of the 58 seats in the Senate. Voter turnout was 55.9%, although only 49,672 people were eligible to vote.
Under the alternating system, elections for the Chamber of Representatives were only held in five out of the nine provinces: Antwerp, Brabant, Luxembourg, Namur and West Flanders. Additionally, special elections were held on the same day in the arrondissements of Charleroi, Liège and Mons.

Campaign

Twelve of the 58 seats were uncontested, of which the Catholics won nine and the Liberals three.

Results

Chamber of Representatives

The results exclude the voting figures for the Leper Colony seat.

Constituencies

The distribution of seats among the electoral districts was as follows for the Chamber of Representatives, with the difference compared to the previous election due to population growth:
ProvinceArrondissementSeatsChange
AntwerpAntwerp6
AntwerpMechelen3
AntwerpTurnhout3+1
LimburgHasselt2
LimburgMaaseik1
LimburgTongeren2
East FlandersAalst3
East FlandersOudenaarde3
East FlandersGent8
East FlandersEeklo1
East FlandersDendermonde3
East FlandersSint-Niklaas3
West FlandersBruges3
West FlandersRoeselare2
West FlandersTielt2
West FlandersKortrijk4
West FlandersYpres3
West FlandersVeurne1
West FlandersDiksmuide1
West FlandersOstend1
BrabantLeuven4
BrabantBrussels11+2
BrabantNivelles4
HainautTournai4
HainautAth2
HainautCharleroi4+1
HainautThuin2
HainautMons5+1
HainautSoignies3
LiègeHuy2
LiègeWaremme1
LiègeLiège7+2
LiègeVerviers3
LuxembourgArlon1
LuxembourgMarche1
LuxembourgBastogne1
LuxembourgNeufchâteau1
LuxembourgVirton1
NamurNamur4+1
NamurDinant2
NamurPhilippeville2
116+8